2014-2015 - Caribbean

December 27th, 2014 - January 5th, 2015

Day 1 - Miami / Everglades - Dec 27th, 2014
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We arrived in Miami around 5:30 pm. on Friday night. We went to pick up our rental car and headed to our hotel, the Ramada. When we checked in, I realized I had booked us smoking rooms. Kim is allergic to smoke, so she was really concerned. The hotel was a dump also, I was very disappointed. One of our 2 rooms didn’t smell as bad as the other, so Curtis and Kim and mom stayed in that one. We spritzed both rooms down with water and that helped some. Then we went to a steakhouse for dinner. The food was really good and we were really hungry since we hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast in Boise. Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast at IHOP. We then drove about 45 minutes west to the Everglades. We went to the safari park there and signed up for an airboat ride and alligator show. It was so fun! The everglades are just a swampy river of grass with small islands here and there, inhabited with alligators, snakes and turtles. We rode around on the airboat and stopped at a few islands to watch alligators. We saw a few big ones and one island had several little baby alligators all over. The alligator show was interesting. Our guide fed them and kissed them and taught us a little about the everglades and alligators. We even got to hold a baby alligator named Snappy! He was so cute! There were also jungle trails we walked along, and then stopped for water and ice cream in the restaurant. We bought a few things in the gift shop. I just got a keychain, but Curtis and Kim bought alligator head and claw for their kids. After we left the everglades, we took our car back to the rental agency and a cab picked us up and took us to the Miami port. We then boarded our ship, the Costa Luminosa. It is an Italian cruise ship and it feels like we are in Europe. Not many people speak English on board, and food is definitely Italian and European. We had a buffet lunch as soon as we boarded, and then found our cabins. We left mom in her cabin to rest and the 4 of us spent the next 3 hours exploring all the decks and finding where everything was. There are several bars and shopping areas, a couple theaters, a gym and spa. I prefer the top decks though, so you can enjoy the water and breeze. Our dinner time is at 6:15, so we all met for dinner at the restaurant and was served a 5 course meal. It was really good! 3 of us had beef tenderloin, Curtis and a tuna steak and Kim had chicken. We all loved our desserts and Kim and Dave ordered 2. Dave, mom and I then went to a broadcast of a Michael Buble concert. We then rested in our cabins for an hour before we had to do a long and boring emergency drill in 5 languages!
Day 2 - Day at sea - December 28th, 2014
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Our first full day on ship was a day at sea. We had a buffet breakfast in the restaurant we had dinner the night previous. Dave and I then spent a couple hours on deck watching the water and me reading in my kindle. We had lunch in the upper restaurant in the buffet area on deck 9. The afternoon we went back to the top deck with Curtis and Kim. Later there was a big bingo game going on. Dave and I went to deck 10 so we could watch it, and I ended up sleeping in Dave’s lap on the couch during the game. We had a nice dinner in the restaurant that evening and watched a sing and dance show in the theater.
Day 3 - Cozumel, Tulum, Xel-Ha - December 29th, 2014
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Today was a fun day. We were in the port at Cozumel, Mexico for the day. We got a quick breakfast then left our ship at 8:00 am with Curtis and Kim. Mom had a different excursion than us. She had a tour of the island of Cozumel. The rest of us took a tender to Playa del Carmen (about a 40 minute boat trip). From there we walked to our bus and took another 40 minute trip to the ruins of Tulum, an ancient Mayan city built 1000 years ago. It was so busy and packed with people! We stood in line about 30 minutes to get in, but once in, it was still crowded but it was a big area so it was more spread out. Tulum was beautiful. The ruins are right on the coast and there were iguanas all over sunning on the ruins. Everything was all roped off though, so we couldn’t walk through any of the houses or buildings, like I’ve been able to do at most other Mayan ruins. After we walked through Tulum, we were walking through the shop area and there was a man with a couple baby monkeys. Dave and I paid him $5 to hold and play with the monkey for about 7-8 minutes. There was also a man trying to get us to pay him $20 to hold a baby lion. He was really cute, but we didn’t want to spend that to hold him for 10 seconds for a picture. Our bus then took us 10 minutes away to the resort called Xel-Ha. There were so many cool things to do there, like zip lining, swimming in the caves, snorkeling, and swimming with the dolphins, or manatee’s and sting rays. We only had 2.5 hours, and again it was super crowded with people. Curtis and Kim chose to do the dolphin encounter, so that took up most of their time. Dave and I were hungry so we went to a delicious Mexican buffet first. We ate fast, since we didn’t have a lot of time there, and then we got into our snorkel gear and went snorkeling for about an hour. The snorkeling was fun for a first time snorkeling experience. There were some beautiful fish. The water was a little foggy though. We then headed back to the pier to get on our boat back to Cozumel. The pier was packed with people. The week after Christmas is NOT the time to go to Playa del Carmen, we discovered. People were just standing in lines waiting for the tenders to take them back to Cozumel. Fortunately we had the red tickets, which gave us first priority, so we boarded pretty quickly. But then we sat in the boat at dock for about 30 minutes before it left. Our ship was supposed to leave Cozumel at 6:00 pm, but because of all the crowds, we didn’t get back on board until almost 7:00. Mom was at dinner by herself, so I hurried to go check in with her, and let her know we made it back on the ship OK, then showered and met Curtis and Kim for dinner. We were really late though, and our steward wasn’t very happy with us, so we ate really fast. There was an impressionist show that evening. The 5 of us sat together. We ordered a few yummy drinks. I loved the pina coladas on the ship. Curtis loved the strawberry daiquiris. Dave and Kim tried different drinks throughout our stay. It was a fun show. Then we went to the chocolate bar and everyone ordered a different flavor cup of chocolate.
Day 4 - Roatan, Honduras - December 30th, 2014
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Dave got up early this morning and went to the gym for an hour. Then I met up with him and we walked along the top deck for about 20 minutes. We then showered and went to breakfast. We arrived at Roatan, Honduras late morning. We left for our excursion in Roatan at 11:00 am. Today, Curtis and Kim had a different excursion from us. They went on one called Pirates, birds and monkeys and had a great time on the island playing with baby monkeys and walking over rope bridges. Mom went on another island bus tour. Dave and I got an a catamaran that took us to the barrier reef and we jumped in the ocean and snorkeled for about 30-45 minutes. It was beautiful! The water was crystal clear and so warm. This barrier reef is supposed to be the best in the world. Not the biggest, that one is in Australia, but the most beautiful. We saw so many cool corals and beautiful fish. Our guide took us to the very edge of the barrier reef, so we saw where it just dropped off into blackness. It was so cool, we loved it! We decided that we really like snorkeling. Then our boat took us to a small private island and beach called the French Key. It was heaven on earth! Dave sat in the lounge chair on the beach in the shade, sipping on a strawberry daiquiri while I swam in the nice warm crystal clear water. Then I joined him in a nearby hammock. We also ordered some chicken fingers and fries from our lounge chairs on the beach. We were there for about an hour and a half. It was heaven! Our boat then took us back to Roatan, and we walked through an iguana park. I’ve never seen so many iguanas! They were crawling all over each other, it was crazy! You had to watch where you were stepping or you would step on their tails. They gave us some large leaves to feed them, and they would come running to you and eat the leaf in a matter of seconds. It was really cool. We got on an old “chicken bus” afterwards to head back to the ship. It was funny, and we got a small tour of the island as we made our way back. Back at the dock, we got some gelato and a cute wooden cat key chain as we walked through the shops before we got back on our ship. We all 5 met up for dinner, and then mom went to the musical production in the big theater. Dave and I went back to our room and started to watch a movie but I fell asleep. We met up with Curtis and Kim for more chocolate in the chocolate bar and 80’s night. That small bar was packed with people dancing and singing along to the 80’s music. Dave and Kim were a little disappointed that they didn’t play more songs that they liked or recognized.
Day 5 - Day at sea - December 31st, 2014
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For the most part of the day, it was a lazy and relaxing day. Dave and I walked along the top deck for some exercise. We also went to the 4D short movie. That afternoon was spent relaxing and reading on the decks. We also took a nap. It was another formal dinner and there was an acrobat show that we went to afterwards. We then sat in a couple different lounges, listening to the live music. About an hour before the New Year, we went to the main deck where the big party was held. It was packed with people! Dave and I went to the very top deck for awhile and looked down into the open area where the party was held. A bit before midnight we went back to the main area and stood on the stairs for the countdown. At midnight, lots of balloons were let loose, and Curtis and Kim were standing below us, right under where all the confetti was being dropped, so they got covered. It was a lot of fun!
Day 6 - Cayman Islands - January 1st, 2015
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Our excursion today was for all 5 of us. We left the ship that morning on tender boats, since there was no big dock. We then boarded a van and took a 45 minute drive around the island. We stopped at a Rum factory and at a place called Hell because of its unique rock formations. We then went to a sea turtle farm. There were hundreds of sea turtles of all sizes and ages. The best part was wading with the baby sea turtles and holding them. Our last part of the day was taking a boat to sting ray city, which is actually out in the middle of the ocean. It is a sand bar about 20 minutes off shore. We arrived and there were already several other boats there. The water was about 3-4 feet deep and nice and warm and pretty, clear water with sting rays swimming all around. We put on some snorkel masks and jumped in the water. Mom stayed on board to watch. The first thing we did was hold and kiss and pose with a stingray for pictures. It was pretty freaky to have one of those things in your face. We then swam and walked around in the water for another 30 minutes. We were given pieces of squid to feed them. A huge one came close and Curtis fed his. So I put the squid out and he was swimming straight at me. I freaked out and tossed the squid at him and jumped behind Curtis. I should have known I wasn’t brave enough to feed one! A couple times while I was snorkeling, one would swim up right behind me and I would scream and get a mouth full of salt water. It was so much fun! Back on the island, Dave ordered himself a sausage and cheese crepe at the creperia and we took a tender back to our ship. I got a late lunch. I was so hungry that I went to the grill and got a burger with fries, zucchini and pasta. It tasted delicious! When we went to dinner 2 hours later, I was not hungry. I still had some spaghetti and chicken curry, but was sorry afterwards. The night before we had duck and it was the best duck I have tasted. They always serve 5 course dinners with new dishes and utensils with every course. The stewards also danced with the ladies and put on a little dance show for us. The rest of the night was spent in a lounge listening to live music. I was starting to not feel well, so I left and went to bed early.
Day 7 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - January 2nd, 2015
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Today was a super fun day! We got off the boat at 8:30 with Curtis and Kim for our excursion in Jamaica. Mom stayed on the ship at this port since she wasn’t interested in any of the excursions here. We boarded a van with a funny Jamaican driver. We drove through the town and the jungle for about 30 minutes on some narrow winding bumpy roads to our excursion site. It was fun and little scary. The first thing we did was river tubing. We were in the Jamaican jungle with a beautiful river. We had 3 guides and 18 of us. Our guides were friendly and funny and we had a nice relaxing and fun hour trip down the White river. We loved it! After our river trip we went zip lining. There were 3 lines in the trees around the little resort that hosted the excursion. That was also fun, and we had some chicken and fries for lunch. Our van ride back along the road was exciting. We were a little late leaving the resort and the driver was cruising fast to get us back to the ship on time.
Day 8 - Grand Turk - January 3rd, 2015
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Today we had our dune buggy excursion on the island of Grand Turk. We didn’t arrive in Grand Turk until 1:00 p.m. so we had a lazy morning. We had hoped to do a trolley train excursion with mom after our dune buggy one, but they changed the time from 4:30 to 3:00, so it overlapped. Curtis and Kim were with us. They took us to a row of 10 dune buggies in the parking lot. Dave drove the dune buggy. It is not a big island and we drove to the far end of the island where there is a light house. We got out and walked around the light house area on the coast for 15 minutes. Funny thing is that there were donkeys all over the island, just wandering around freely. They used to be part of the salt mining trade on the island, carrying the salt out. But that ended in 1973 so they just roam wild on the island. We then got back in the dune buggies and headed back toward the boat on the other side of the island. We made a big loop around the island. They mainly took us on dirt roads, but down some business and residential areas too.
Day 9 - Day at sea - January 4th, 2015
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This was another lazy day on the ship. We slept in until 9:30 a.m. so we decided to skip breakfast, other than some fresh squeezed orange juice. We had purchased 40 drinks throughout our cruise which is what we have used to enjoy our coladas, daiquiris, soda and fresh squeezed orange juice. We had a little disembarkation meeting that late morning, and then all 5 of us met for lunch. After lunch we all went our separate ways. Mom went to read in her favorite lounge. Dave watched a movie on his phone in a quiet lounge. I went to the upper decks to enjoy the water and breeze while I read. I ended up dozing off so I came back to nap for a while. Dinner was another formal occasion. Mom got sick shortly after it began so I walked her back to her room. She threw up on the elevator and again when we got to her room. She spent the rest of the evening in bed. She has also had a bad cold the past few days. The show tonight was the ships singers and dancers performing to the best of the 50’s 60’s 70’s and 80’s.
Day 10 - Nassau, Bahamas - January 5th, 2015
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Today we all had different excursions. Mom had a city/garden/zoo tour, Curtis and Kim went to the big Atlantis resort, and Dave and I rode segways along the beach front and went swimming at the beach. The segways were a lot of fun. There were 7 of us with 2 guides. We spent a few minutes learning to ride the segway. It seemed really awkward at first, but I soon got the hang of it. It was a lot more fun to ride then I thought it would be. We then went single file along the sidewalks and streets along the beach. We stopped for drinks at a place called the ‘fish fry’. We tried the local Bahama pineapple soda called Bahama Goombay Punch. It was yummy. We had some ‘recess’ time at a park where we were able to drive around on our own. They also took us to a little obstacle course. Dave’s segway broke here, and one of the guides gave Dave his to use for the remainder of our time. After the segways, there was a public beach nearby. We went swimming for about 30 minutes, and then laid on the beach on our towels for a couple hours. We took our time walking back to the ship. Dave bought a hot dog before we left the beach and ate it as we were walking back. We looked in some shops and we bought Dave and the kids some bright tie dye T shirts. Dave and I wore them that evening for dinner. The past several nights at dinner, some of the stewards have put on a little dance for us and they have music playing and our personal stewards that took care of us all week danced with Kim and me. That has been nice. All the shows and entertainment are late tonight, so we will get one last drink and then get to bed. We disembark at 7:00 a.m.